1. Field of the Invention
The invention involves a system and apparatus to improve the play of conventional baccarat and, more particularly, a display device that will enable all players to track game results without the need to keep individual tabulations.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past few decades, baccarat has grown to be a most prestigious game of chance table game. Part of the popularity of baccarat is the ambiance of the lavish private salons. Surrounded by glamorous shills, tuxedoed dealers, the bettors are extended liberties unheard of on the public casino floor. The bettors generally draw the cards from the shoe and crumple them in anger if they lose, eat at the tables complimentary of the casino food prepared by private chefs, smoke the finest cigars washed down with expensive drinks. Another attraction to baccarat is the large sums of money that are bet. Table minimums are typically higher than other table games, minimum, bets often start at $500 and maximum wagers of over $200,000 a hand are not uncommon. This eliminates the high rollers having to rub shoulders with the commoners.
Baccarat is an old card game originating in Italy. Baccarat originated in Italy, but it has long been regarded as a French import. "Baccarat" is French meaning "zero." This is important, as tens, Jacks, Queens, and Kings count as nothing, and the other cards count their respective face value. The object of baccarat is for the bettor to successfully wager on whether the bank's hand or the player's hand will have the highest value. The highest hand value in baccarat is nine. The bettor receives even money for this wager if he selects the winning hand and loses his wager if he selects the losing hand. Under the rules of play, the bank's hand has a slightly higher chance of winning than does the player's hand. Therefore, if the bettor wagers on the bank's hand the bettor must pay to the gaming establishment a commission (typically, 5%) of the amount the bettor wins. No commission is paid if the bettor successfully wagers on the player's hand. The cards are turned face up from which the value of the bank's hand, and the player's hand is readily determined.
Prior to the deal, each bettor can make one of three wagers: 1) the bank hand will win; 2) the player hand will win; or 3) the bank hand and the player hand will tie. Wagering locations are provided on the baccarat table layout. There are no options regarding drawing the third card for either the player's or bank's hand and baccarat is generally considered a game of chance (not skill). The bank announces the point count of the player's hand and the bank's hand and instructs the player when to draw additional cards if appropriate. All bets must be placed before the dealer calls "no more bets" and the cards are dealt. No more than one additional card will be drawn to each hand. The hand closest to 9 wins and shall be paid at odds of 1 to 1. If both the player and bank hand result in identical totals, it is a tie and neither hand wins or loses. Depending on the point total of the player's hand and the bank's hand, one more card may be dealt to either the player's hand, the bank's hand or both. The rules for determining whether a third card is dealt are fixed rules; there is no discretion for either the player's hand or the bank's hand on whether a third card is dealt. There are no choices to be made.
There are a number of patents that relate to baccarat and different variations thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,119 to Jacob et al. sets forth modified wagering methods for baccarat. A variation to baccarat is disclosed wherein different types of "surrender rules" are provided wherein a player may surrender a portion of the bet depending on the value of the first two cards of the player and the bank hands. A separate surrender region is placed on the gaming table. This variant provides additional types of wagers that may be placed during the play of the game to increase the interest on the part of the players and to increase the profitability of the game for the casino.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,362,064 to Lofink et al. pertains to a modification of baccarat rules. This modification eliminates the conventional 5% commission charged by the gaming establishment. The system also provides a variation to baccarat wherein the player's and the bank's hands operate under the same criteria as to whether a third card is or is not dealt to each respective hand. In yet another variant, the patent uses a mechanical randomizing device to establish a "push" or "bar" situation for what otherwise would be a winning hand. Finally, the system permits side wagers to be added to the game. A player may make an additional wager on his hand with respect to a tic or for a natural situation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,087 to Shen et al. discloses a casino game that combines elements of the games of blackjack (twenty one) and baccarat. The house or bank and the player(s) each receive four cards that are divided into two pairs according to the rules. The player(s) hands are then compared to the bank or house hands to determine win, loss or tie. The only wagering mentioned is that of betting upon a win, loss, or tie for either the player(s) or the house/bank. No bets on other aspects of the game are disclosed.
As stated above, baccarat is generally considered a game of chance and not skill where options must be considered by the players with respect to the cards dealt to each, as for example, in blackjack. For this reason, most players use a scorecard which is nothing more than a continuous listing of games played, and tracks whether the bank or player won the hand or if the hand was a draw. Many players use a system of darkening in a series of squares with different colors to designate the result of the continuous games. Such prior art card is shown in FIG. 1, wherein blue (depicted as B) designates that the bank won, red (depicted as R) that the player won and ties are shown by the diagonal line drawn in the square. Naturally new players coming to the table will want to, at best, see this scorecard and most will want to copy the results before sitting at the table to play. Also, each player will, during play, replay this scorecard on an ongoing basis. Clearly, casinos dislike this scorekeeping immensely for the reason that it takes away from the time a player could be playing the game and scorecard copying results in slowing down the game. Both reasons contribute to reducing casino revenue. Accordingly what is needed is a "scorecard" system that is handled by the bank that is accurate, convenient, quick, and results in speeding up the game of baccarat.